Teamsters, safety groups rally behind SHIPA; ATA rejects claims
SHIPA supporters contend large trucks are more dangerous to drive and damage highways and bridges. A recent survey says most Americans agree. (Lake Research Partners)
The Trucker Staff
5/4/2011
WASHINGTON — Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa joined Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., and safety advocates and family members of highway accident victims at a press conference Tuesday to endorse the Safe Highways and Infrastructure Preservation Act (SHIPA), legislation that would restrict the size and weight of trucks that travel U.S. highways.
Bill supporters contend large trucks are more dangerous to drive and damage highways and bridges.
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“More than 600,000 of our 1.4 million members start their workday by turning a key in vehicle,” Hoffa said. “That gives Teamsters a real-life perspective on the dangers involved in increasing the size and weight of trucks from their current levels. Heavier and longer trucks mean greater stopping distances and shorter reaction times. And the reality is that our highways and bridges are not equipped to handle the increased weight and size of these trucks.”
A recent nationwide poll sponsored by the Truck Safety Coalition found that 89 percent of the general public strongly opposes larger trucks.
The survey also found that 79 percent favor reducing truckers’ driving time from 11 hours to 10.
“We must protect our existing infrastructure, and increasing truck weights isn’t sound transportation policy,” Hoffa said. “The SHIPA bill is the right approach as we strive to keep our highways safe and make the necessary improvements to our infrastructure to build the transportation capacity needed to compete in the global economy.”
The American Trucking Associations was quick to respond “to fallacious claims” about the safety of the trucking industry, saying trucking has been attacked by organizations who have “co-opted the legitimate grief” of Americans who have lost family members on the nation’s highways to benefit “trucking’s competitors and well-heeled union interests.”
“Issues as important as highway safety demand that legitimate stakeholders be honest and upfront with the public and deal with facts and science,” ATA President Bill Graves said. “The fact is, the trucking industry has never been safer — and the continued improvement is due in part to the hours-of-service rule these groups have attempted to litigate and blackmail out of existence.”
While operating under the current hours-of-service rule, trucking has been involved in far fewer fatal and injury crashes, and it has improved its fatality and injury crash rates by 34 and 39 percent respectively, ATA noted.
“In the two years since ATA unveiled its 18-point safety agenda, a comprehensive approach to addressing both primary and secondary causes of highway crashes, these alleged ‘safety’ groups have not made a serious proposal to address trucking safety,” Graves said. “Their fix: arbitrarily cut working hours to advance labor’s agenda, and further restrict truck size and weight to advance the railroad’s agenda.
“These same concerned citizens claim to speak for many Americans on the issue of truck productivity, but it seems pretty clear they speak for the railroad industry which lines its pockets at the expense of shippers and consumers they hold hostage.”
Allowing states the flexibility to make decisions on more productive trucks would not only cut shipping costs during this fragile economic recovery, they would allow trucking to better utilize its “safest, most efficient and greenest vehicles,” ATA argued.
“ATA, and the entire trucking industry, sympathizes with those who have lost loved ones on our highways,” Graves said. “Those who claim to speak for them should be honest about their motives and stop misleading the public to advance a transparent labor and railroad agenda.”
Kevin Jones of The Trucker staff can be reached for comment at kevinj@thetrucker.com.
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